


Number one Ninja

by purplesmiles



Series: Bakugou ninja-verse [1]
Category: Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Quirks (My Hero Academia), BAMF Bakugou Katsuki, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Canon-Typical Violence, Cooking, Crossover, Dimension Travel, F/F, F/M, Female Uzumaki Naruto, Fluff and Angst, Genderbending, Good Orochimaru (Naruto), Hokage Uchiha Itachi, M/M, MPF head Bakugou Katsuki, Pining, Reincarnation, Sensei Orochimaru (Naruto), Slow Romance, Strong Female Characters, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Where Bakugou is Sakura's older brother, a bit of crack, and it's justified., everybody has a crush on Bakugou, not a bit actually, not really but Bakugou has his, tags are not in order, the man can cook; is gorgeous; respects women; BLONDE; takes no bullshit, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:41:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27061378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplesmiles/pseuds/purplesmiles
Summary: Where Bakugou Katsuki gets reborn in the Narutoverse as Haruno Sakura's older kickass brother. It changes a lot of things.
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki & Uchiha Itachi, Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Uchiha Itachi/Bakugou Katsuki, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, multiple people/ Bakugou (one sided)
Series: Bakugou ninja-verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2106192
Comments: 276
Kudos: 1109





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i decided to write a bnha x naruto crossover since i've had this idea for a really long time but didn't really got around to writing it before today. 
> 
> thanks for reading!

Kizashi Haruno gazed at the baby in his arms, a small puff of his blonde hair peeking from the blankets, peacefully sleeping in his father's arms. 

"Katsuki. Haruno Katsuki," he said, his wife smiled, exhaustion clear on her face as she lay in the hospital bed. 

"It's a beautiful name. My little Katsuki," Mebuki said and bought the baby close to her chest, kissing his forehead before falling into a light slumber herself. 

_______________

_1 year later, Konohagakure._

"Say Dada, Da-da." Kizashi sat in front of his one-year-old son who had a small scowl on his adorable face. Mebuki was sitting on the couch near them, going over their sales and profits for the month. 

"D-" 

"Yes, just like that. Very good Katsuki, Dada" her husband said excitedly as he crouched in front of their son, the child's red eyes looking back at him. She kept her notes down and leaned forward to listen to her baby boy's first words. 

"... D.. DIE!" 

Both of them sat in silence for a few seconds before Mebuki burst into giggles, Katsuki looked at her with a pleased smile while Kizashi sulked at his day's worth of effort being useless. 

______________

_2 years later, Konohagakure._

Mebuki was cooking dinner after a long day at work when her little son came into the kitchen and plopped on one of the seats on the table. 

"Mom. Who's the number one hero right now?" he asked her with a frown and she smiled a little. Her son had been obsessed with 'heroes' ever since he could speak. She took it he meant Ninja. 

"Mmmm, well, I think the Hokage would be the number one hero, he's the strongest in the village" she answered. 

"Mom"

"Yes, Katsuki?"

"I'm going to become the number one hero," 

__________________

_2 years later, Konohagakure._

"Look, Katsuki, this is your little sister," Kizashi said softly and handed the baby to the blonde boy who was looking at her in awe. 

"Pink," he said looking up at him, Kizashi laughed, she did have the most beautiful shade of pink hair. 

"Yeah, you have to protect her okay?" 

"Duh. Of course, I will. I'll defeat all the shitty villains." Kizashi ruffled his hair fondly, Katsuki had talked about heroes and villains for so long that both the parents were used to it. They had to work on his language a little though. 

"What's her name?" 

"Sakura. Haruno Sakura," Mebuki said with a smile. 

_____________

_1 year later, Konohagakure._

Bakugou sighed, he could finally start training again, he's going to become the number one hero no matter where. At least now he was joining the academy, some stupid school for Ninjas. What the hell is up with Ninjas anyway? Where are the heroes? Why is the technology here so shitty? 

At least he liked his parents, they were both retired ~~heroes~~ Ninjas and had their own business. They supported his decision of going to the academy but they couldn't train him at home. Not like Bakugou needed their _help_ of course. He read enough in the library. Chakra huh. At least is seemed cool. 

He wondered when his quirk would develop, last time it did when he was four, but this time he's already six! He was getting a little worried that he might never get his quirk. Nope. No way. NOT HAPPENING. 

"Katsuki, don't worry alright? You'll be fine." 

"I know, dad"

"Don't let the clan children bully you. They think they're better than everyone and it might seem they're stronger at first but it's only because they've been training for a long time. You'll catch up soon enough." he said kindly and Bakugo frowned. Clan children sounded just like children from hero families, judging by how Icyhot had been, they probably had a shit ton of family trauma as well. He was happier being from a relatively civilian family. 

And if he had already started practising kata's and chakra exercises with the help of scrolls from the library, well, no one had to know. 

"Hn. I'm going to be number one dad, small fries don't matter." His father laughed and ruffled his hair, a habit he was greatly annoyed by. 

"Of course, good luck!" he said and waved as Bakugo entered the academy gates. 

He went to his allotted class and sat down in the last seat, absent-mindedly looking outside the window, numerous children were coming in, some alone and some in groups. He wasn't really bothered with making friends right now, he was still adjusting to his new life. 

Why couldn't have he just died in peace? At least the Shigaraki fucker was dead as well. He was broken from his thoughts as their new teacher announced themselves. 

"Good morning students. I am Hyuuga Hideki, a chunin of Konoha. I will be your homeroom teacher this term. Please don't hesitate to ask me for help on any matter." 

Katsuki looked around the classroom, there was a dark-haired boy sitting next to him, huh, he hadn't even noticed anyone sitting down. Everyone in the class seemed to be a little excited and nervous, Bakugou himself felt a thrill of being able to fight again. He hoped fucking Deku was stuck somewhere with no heroes or ninjas. Served him right for being an annoying stick in the mud. 

His first day at the academy was pretty underwhelming. They had lessons on activation of chakra, Konoha's history, the various departments in the village. 

"Sensei" Bakugou raised his hand. 

"Yes, Haruno Katsuki, right?" 

"Hn. What's the job of the Military Police Departement?" he asked. He wanted to be the number one hero alright, but the Hokage position was more like the President of the village. He wasn't going to be stuck behind paperwork and diplomatic relations in any world. The MPF sounded much more appealing. 

"Ah, the Military Police Departement deals with the protection of the village, they resolve internal threats and wrongdoings, they also lend a hand for external troubles when required. The MPF consists of the Uchiha clan," he explained patiently. 

"And what if someone outside the clan wants to join?" 

".... That is rather rare, but it has happened before. Don't worry about it now, we will guide you in choosing your area of specialisation in the third year. Now, going back to the second Shinobi war..." 

The dark-haired boy had been looking at him ever since he had asked about the MPF and Bakugou was getting more and more irritated. 

"Do you want something fucking extra?!" he asked turning towards him and the boy shook his head, his cheeks becoming a little pink. 

Fucking idiots disrupting his fucking thinking time. 

"My father is the head of the MPF," the boy said and Bakugou looked at him, what did he want him to say? 'Good job'? 

"So?" 

"I- Uh. Nothing," he replied, looking a bit surprised. 

"Then stop wasting my time." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just to be clear, 
> 
> The Kyuubi attack has happened just a year back and right now the relations between the village and the Uchiha are not that bad, they have been moved into a different compound but things are still okay. 
> 
> Bakugou's death is still very vague and we will see more about how he died and when it happened as the story progresses. 
> 
> Some characters are going to have different personalities in this story so that's something I'm warning y'all about rn, so please don't come at me for it. 
> 
> Everything is canon up until the kyuubi rampage but things are going to change after that. We are not going to be focusing on Team 7 here rn, but they will have a major role in this fic, as both Bakugou's and Itachi's siblings are on that team. 
> 
> The main pairing for this fic is Bakugou x Itachi. I've never read a book with this pairing before so I thought it'd be fun. 
> 
> If there's any confusions or errors in the storyline then please ask :)
> 
> The updates might be slow, idk, depends on my mood lol.
> 
> share your thought's in the comments!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll edit and proofread this later.
> 
> what did i even write my god.

Itachi's first day at school had been a little disappointing. He was never able to make friends among his clan because the older kids didn't want to play Ninja with someone younger and stronger than them. He thought that once he started the ninja academy he'd be able to make friends. Even one friend would do. No such luck. Plus, the classes were boring, and he already knew everything that was being taught to them in the practical aspects. 

At lunch, everyone already seemed to have friends, Itachi was too shy to go and talk to someone first. So he sat under a tree and ate his bento alone. And then there was the blonde boy who wanted to join the MPF, he thought they might become friends because he was from the Uchiha clan but no luck there too. 

So Itachi preferred staying at home with Sasuke or training in the clan compounds instead of going back to the academy. But he had too, they had started the term barely two months back after all, there were six years of classes left unless he graduated early. Maybe as time goes by he'll start enjoying it. 

He sat at the same seat he did every day once he made it to class. He debated on wishing his bench mate a good morning but decided against it. He observed his classmates as the periods went by. It was finally time for their first spar and Itachi was a little excited. Finally, something he enjoyed. 

"Fucking finally," the boy, Katsuki Haruno muttered with a grin as they lined up. 

Hm. Was his classmate strong? Probably, but then he was from a civilian background so he wouldn't have any formal training. Maybe he could offer to help him out with his Kata's later? Or maybe not, the boy always seemed annoyed with him. 

"Alright children, make the seal of confrontation and begin!" 

The two students were Aburame Shigeru and Yamanaka Inoru, their teacher had likely started with two clan kids to show the others a proper demonstration. Itachi watched as both of them started fighting, both of them had different taijutsu style, likely their own clan's techniques, it was fairly entertaining to watch for a couple of minutes after which Itachi zoned out. He would probably defeat them within a minute. It wasn't arrogance, he just knew their levels were too different. 

"What the fuck are those two extra's doing?" Katsuki scoffed from behind him and Itachi almost jumped. He didn't expect him to talk to him. From looking at the blonde's expression he didn't really expect an answer. Thank god, Itachi was totally unprepared to deal with that. 

The matches continued until his name was called. 

"Uchiha Itachi and Haruno Katsuki," their teacher called out and his eyes widened, oh no, no one who fights with him wants to be his friend afterwards. Maybe he'll take it easy, it was probably the other's first time sparring. He stepped into the ring and made the confrontation seal, the other copied him and they started. 

Itachi blinked. 

He was on the floor with a foot on his back. 

What?

When did they even start?

The rest of the class was equally silent too, including their teacher. 

"T-the winner-" their teacher started.

"No."

Huh?

"Fight me again, you were holding back" red eyes met his as he turned around, still on the ground. 

"....Alright, once more," the teacher said confusedly, likely not used to getting such requests (or probably demand in this case)

Itachi stood up and stepped back, he was a little embarrassed, he didn't even see anything and he was on the ground!

He made the seal again and dashed forward before the other moved, Katsuki was standing there waiting for his attack, he dodged his kicks and attacks but didn't make a move in offence. Itachi stepped back to reassess the situation but he didn't have time as a flash of yellow was beside him aiming a kick to his stomach. He rolled on the ground and avoided the flurry of punches aimed at him, he could feel a fluttery feeling in his chest, he was  _ excited.  _

No one had ever pushed him to this point yet. They fought for a few more minutes, he could notice that the other was dragging the fight long, he could've won already, which meant he was enjoying this as well. Itachi smiled despite himself as he focused all his attention on evading the attacks and making his own moves. He felt a drain on his chakra as he fought, Katsuki must have noticed as he ended the fight by pinning him to the floor once more. 

"Your fucking eyes have turned into some red colour, what the fuck?" the blonde scowled and Itachi furrowed his brows, 

Oh,

The Sharingan. 

He consciously pulled back chakra from his eyes like his father had told him to during their reading lessons and felt the chakra drain stop. From what he knew Sharingan was supposed to activate from feeling deep emotions like sadness or grief, his father will know about it. 

"Winner, Haruno Katsuki. Please make the reconciliation sign," their teacher said after a second and they joined their fingers. Katsuki was still smiling and Itachi felt happy too, he wondered if they could spar outside school sometime. 

"You're not a complete loser, extra," the blonde said and Itachi blinked. 

"Uh.... thanks?" he didn't know whether to be offended or consider it a compliment so he settled on the latter. 

"Hn," the blonde said and Itachi really thought their positions were reversed for a moment. 

They were walking back to join their classmates as he heard a small BOOM. 

He turned to the direction of the noise and saw Katsuki looking at his palms, their teacher walked towards them but the blonde didn't pay him any mind as he held his hand out and there was a louder BOOM!

An explosion. 

"Fucking hell, thank god!" the blonde said with a grin as their teacher looked at him with wide eyes. 

"Um, Haruno-san is that a jutsu?" Hideki-sensei asked and Katsuki shook his head. 

"Nope, this is my own quir- uh, power? I can make explosions with the nitroglycerin in the sweat from my palms. But I haven't been able to do that for a while, feels fucking good for it to be back." he heard him say. A Kekkei Genkai? 

"Oh. Haruno-san, I'm going to call your parents to the school, a new Kekkei Genkai has to be registered in the village records immediately," he said looking at Katsuki and the boy shrugged, uncaring. "There hasn't been a new bloodline limit since ages...." their teacher whispered to himself before shaking his head. 

"Alright class, work on your postures and Katas, I'm going to have to go and inform the headmaster. No sparring without supervision," he called out before leaving. 

"Katsuki-Kun's so cool!!" a girl shrieked and Itachi turned to look at her. 

"Yes! He defeated a clan kid in a spar! He's so handsome too!" another added. 

"Itachi-Kun was so amazing as well!" another person joined in and Itachi recognised her as an Uchiha. Uchiha Izumi, from what he remembered. 

"Fan-fucking-tastic. Stupid fucking fangirl extra's to deal with now," the blonde murmured and Itachi mentally agreed, he hated the attention. 

"So, extra, d'ya wanna train with me sometime? You're gonna hafta actually learn how to fight though," he said and Itachi stiffened, it wasn't his fault for the blonde being so strong. 

"My name is Itachi," he said instead of voicing his thoughts. The blonde looked at him for a long moment and Itachi wondered if he's messed up already. He should've just said yes.

"Hn. Tell that to me again when you manage to win a fucking spar against me,  _ extra _ ," 

Itachi gave a small involuntary smile at that, shaking his head. 

__________

"We had our first sparring matches today," Itachi said as they sat at the dining table for dinner. 

"Oh, yes, it's been a few months, they'll increase the practical lessons now." his father said calmly sipping his tea. 

"I lost my match," he added, his father didn't choke in surprise but it was a near thing. 

"Someone defeated you?" he asked, giving Itachi his undivided attention, Mikoto was looking at him too, a small amused smile on her face. 

"Yes. Haruno Katsuki,"

"Haruno? A civilian....?" his father leaned forward in interest.

"Yes, he's very strong. He is also a Genesis for a new bloodline."

"What"

"Today in class he activated his bloodline, which lets him make explosions from the nitroglycerin in the sweat from his palms," Itachi was not a stalker, he simply happened to hear Katsuki when the boy was explaining this to the teacher. And he had a perfect memory. Okay? 

"I haven't heard of someone activating a new bloodline in Konoha since Senju Hashirama," his father said, looking contemplative. 

"He mentioned he wants to join the MPF during the beginning of the term," Itachi says looking at his father's face to see his reaction. The man didn't show any visible reaction except for a slight raise of his left eyebrow. 

"Well, why don't we focus on dinner for now, It's almost your bedtime Itachi," Mikoto intervened and they went back to eating quietly. 

"Oh, Tou-san?"

"Hmm"

"I got my Sharingan during the spar," this time his father did choke on his tea and Itachi couldn't completely keep the smile off his face. 

______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i could either do (comparitively) frequent updates but short chapters like this one or slow updates and long chapters, what do you guys think?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> enter one orochimaru.

Bakugou was, in all honesty, not impressed. Just because he activated his quirk didn't mean he was ready to establish his own  _ clan _ . He is six years old godammit. He used to think that the hero commission had been weaponising children with strong quirks but the shinobi world clearly took the cake. At least the HC used to pick children around the ages of ten-twelve to train. This was stupid. And the only reason he could comprehend all this was because he was almost two decades older in mind. 

Any other child in his position would have agreed when promised a clan land and council privileges but he read through the entire file. 

_ -Would have to provide at least two heirs with the same Kekkei Genkai who would join the village forces.  _

_ -Would need to permit the village to assign him proper career choices for his bloodline. _

_ -Would need to move into their compound, with or without family.  _

Some conditions were stupid and entirely dehumanizing. He was not going to have kids to fulfil someone's demands and no way was he going to decide their fates as shinobi before they were even born. So after three days when he was supposed to meet with the Hokage, he very politely told him that he does not want his own clan and is happy the way he is. 

"Are you sure Haruno-Kun? A clan seat and compound is not easily given. The village will also provide the fundamental clan fund of course, your parents and little sister will live comfortably," His eyes narrowed at the tone and words the older man was using to convince him. 

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but no way am I agreeing to those conditions, I'm going to become the best shinobi in Konoha and that's that," he replied, not really filtering his thoughts in an attempt to act at least somewhat like a child. He was also pretty sure his mother and father should be present for this conversation. He wasn't a genin yet, are they even allowed to talk to him alone? 

"I see, the offer will be extended again once you reach the Chunin rank, Haruno-san, I am happy to have a talented young shinobi in the academy, the will of fire burns brightly in you," the man said with a small tired but genuine smile and Bakugo nodded, bowing and leaving. 

Useless fucking Hokage and the village's useless policies.

At least once he's a chunin he'd be able to say what he wanted to about children and heirs without sounding suspicious. Maybe they'd even reach a compromise. He was irritated enough to skip the academy for the rest of the week in favour of playing with Sakura. She was the best thing in this new world and new life. Their parents were in a business and did not have much time to spend with them due to the growing demand in this season, but Bakugou was fine with that. He liked spending time with Sakura when her nanny wasn't there and he enjoyed the solitude. 

Things were going pretty well in his opinion. 

He even had weekly spar sessions with the Uchiha extra from class and hate as may to admit it, those were always fun. Even if the raven was shy and hesitant, and emotionally stunted. Bakugou had dealt with one Izuku Midoriya and one Shoto Todorki so this was nothing. So yes, things were going pretty good. He made his own food mostly, he spent time with Sakura, he trained with Itachi, he went to the academy (occasionally), he brushed up his quirk and techniques. He even had the blueprint for his support material ready, which he would request after graduating, at some point. 

But whenever his life starts going even remotely well, some disaster happens. And this time, the name of the disaster was Orochimaru.

_ some time back: _

_ Bakugou was training in an empty ground specifically meant to be used for practising fire techniques without harming the trees or any wildlife. He had his journal open in front of him as he sat reading through his progress. He had taken to writing down everything he could remember about his quirk and training from his previous life so he would have helpful notes and matter to look over as he progressed. He had written it in the code they had been using at his agency to communicate about sensitive information so it's not like anyone would be able to read it.  _

_ Just as he was about to get up and resume he felt another presence approaching him.  _

_ "Ah, little boy, go and practice somewhere else for today, I need to conduct an experiment here," a tall, slender, white-skinned snake-like man spoke with a bored tone, expecting him to get up and leave without saying anything.  _

_ "Find some other place asshole," he flipped him off, stretching his arms and getting up.  _

_ "Oh? And pray tell, why would you need this specific training ground?" the man asked, finally looking at him. Bakugou sneered and held up his hands, bringing them together and slamming it onto the ground with a huge explosion. "Can't do this shit at home, don't waste my time anymore,"  _

_ The pale man finally seemed to notice the other craters and depressions on the ground before raising a brow, "So you're the new Genisis, Mhmm, Sarutobi-sensei told me about you, explosions from nitroglycerin huh? Absolutely fascinating," he smiled and approached him.  _

_ "Yeah whatever you said, snake-face, now leave me alone." He tried to concentrate on increasing the volume of the blast with minimizing the damage, it was taking some time as he wasn't yet used to the recoil in his current body.  _

_ "Mhm, did you try coating your hands in chakra to reduce the muscle tear?" The annoying bastard spoke and Bakugou was ready to give him a piece of his mind before he comprehended his words. Huh, he had forgotten that chakra was an unknown element that could mix with these explosions. This could open a wide variety of new options, it may even compromise for the technological shortages in his workout.  _

_ "We haven't started chakra control to that level yet." _

_ "Of course, of course, you've only just started the academy. My, those explosions were quite damaging. Hmmm, the untapped potential, absolutely delicious..." the man trailed off at the end, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Bakugou winced at the gleam in his eyes, must be a scientist thing.  _

_ "Hey, you're a scientist, right? You wanted to do some shitty experiment here when you came?"  _

_ "Mhmm" _

_ "Do you think you can make something for me? I can't really pay you right now but I have a blueprint here if you wanna look through it," he asked, because he wasn't about to let a chance go.  _

_ The man took the blueprint from him and Bakugou watched as his eyes skimmed over the diagrams and explanations, there was the same gleam in his eyes that Hatsume got when she got a particularly interesting model. Great, this could turn out good.  _

_ "Fascinating... Did you think of all this on your own?" he eyed Bakugou curiously and he shrugged.  _

_ "Can you make something like that or not?" _

_ "I can, of course. Though some things here are probably your imagination. Though we can fix them with some chakra conducting cuffs and leather fireproof gloves... Maybe some camouflaging material since it's showy.... to reduce the weight and increase the durability..." Bakugou tuned out as the man went on. Amazing, one less thing to worry about.  _

_ "So? Will you make it?"  _

_ "I'm a busy man, chibi-kun. I don't even know your name. Tell me, what do I get in turn for helping you?" _

_ His eyebrow twitched at being addressed as 'chibi'. "Busy my ass. I don't know what you want. I'll pay you of course, in instalments though. And my name is Haruno Katsuki" he still wasn't completely used to saying 'Haruno' instead of 'Bakugou' _

_ "I guess I can spare some time for your gear, I do find myself increasingly bored these days. See you later Katsuki-Kun"  _

'It seemed like a great idea back then, not so much now' Bakugou thought as he hid behind the stall of a vegetable vendor, pulling the Uchiha along with him.

"What's wrong, Katsuki-san?" he asked and Bakugou made a gesture to 'shut up' at him. The other boy quietened and he tried looking up and finding an escape route. He is happy to get the proper gear for his quirk, he really is! But the man, (whom he refers to Oreo because his name reminds Bakugou of Kaminari's favourite cookies.) was alike to Hatsume Mei in more ways than he anticipated. He had been giving Bakugou various 'experiments' to try and tell in in detail about how it feels and areas of improvement. 

He was just looking for a nice spar this afternoon, God fucking dammit!

"Ah, Katsuki-Kum, here you are. I would almost assume you were trying to avoid me considering those poor attempts at hiding." Speak of the devil.

"Orochimaru-sama, it's a pleasure to meet you," Itachi said and bowed as he stood up. Bakugou cursed but got up himself. 

"Ooho, who do we have here? The Uchiha heir huh, I've heard about you Itachi-Kun," Oreo looked at him with examining eyes. 

"What is it this time?" Bakugou asked resigned and within a second the man's whole focus was on him.

"I have made modifications to the gloves so that they don't tear apart with the force of the explosions, give it your biggest try," he said and unceremoniously tossed the black gloves at him. 

Bakugou looked at the gloves then back at him. "Are you serious? We're in the middle of a market, you snake moron!" he yelled and Itachi gasped, trying to apologise on his behalf. 

"Ah yes, collateral damage. Such a hassle. No worries, try them when you're free and tell me, I'll work on those boots now..." the man muttered and walked off. 

Bakugou groaned once he left and turned to Itachi who had a curious expression, "What?"

"What does Orochimaru-sama want with you? He's one of the Legendary Sannin and heroes of the third war!" 

"He's helping me out with my bloodline. Completely crazy is what that fucker is." 

"You can't just say that!" he heard the Uchiha yelled as he walked towards the training ground to try the gloves. 

"Catch up, extra, if you wanna see."

\------

_ Omake: _

_ "I'm afraid I must decline, I simply do not have the time to experiment the Shodaime's ability to hold the Sharingan right now. I have much more interesting things to do" Orochimaru explained to Danzo who was almost seething.  _

_ "Oh? That's a pity, I thought the different bloodlines interested you" he said with false sadness. _

_ "Yes, yes, they do, but right now I am occupied, I have no free slots for that" _

_ "What is it you're making right now?" Danzo asked, it was such a waste to lose the research on the Sharingan but whatever the Sannin must be working on would probably be much more powerful. _

_ "Mhm, I'm making some fireproof clothing right now.." the man replied distractedly and Danzo wanted to claw his eye out. What a waste.  _

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did this even make any sense? i honestly dont know how to feel about this chapter. share your thoughts in the comments and leave kudos if you liked it <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for so much love and 200+ kudos, I cry happy tears 😭

Itachi blinked up at the blonde boy standing in front of him. Lately, they had gotten closer both in and outside the academy. Katsuki-san seemed to have no other friends except Itachi. He was a little guilty for being very pleased with this fact. It may be selfish of him, but Katsuki-san was his  _ first _ friend, his only friend too, and out of all the people in the class who wanted to be his friend, he chose  _ Itachi. _ His mother was pleased that he made a friend, Sasuke was upset that he didn't have time to spend with him as much as before, but he was only a baby. 

That brings him back to this moment, Mother had asked him to invite his friend for lunch and father had agreed, he wanted to know if his new 'friend' was worth associating with. Itachi already knew that Father was lying, because Katsuki-san had an unknown Kekkei Genkai and everyone was already interested in him. Itachi was a little too smart for his age, he  _ knew _ that this would not end well. Katsuki-san was.... loud. And angry. And impulsive. And aggressive. And he never filtered his thoughts. And he didn't care who he was talking to, Itachi had hoped that his friend would have some sort of tact but that option went out of the window as soon as he heard him talk to Orochimaru-sama for the first time. 

There was little, very minute, tiniest part of Itachi that wanted to see Katsuki-san talk to his father like he did with everybody, no, this was not the only reason he was insistent on him accepting his offer,  _ he wasn't.  _

"No, I don't wanna come to your house for lunch extra, drop it," he says looking down at him as if talking to a particularly disobedient cat. 

"Kaa-san insists that you join us. Why not, anyway?" he pushes, rising from the ground to stand across the boy. 

"I can't leave my imouto alone, my parents are out of town," it's such a pitiful excuse that Itachi rolls his eyes. He  _ knows _ they have a babysitter. 

"And how do you come to train every day then?"

"..... Fine! One fucking lunch is all."

Itachi smiles in accomplishment, "You can bring your sister too, my Ototo is her age," he speaks as they walk back from the training grounds to one of Orochimaru-sama's labs to pick the blonde's new 'sneakers'. He wonders where his friend thought of such a name. Maybe they're supposed to help in stealth? He has learnt to just accept some of the other boy's habits.

Katsuki-san snorts, "Are you stupid? I'm not bringing Sakura to the same place as a hundred or so of people who're even worse than  _ you _ ," 

Well, Itachi is a little offended but then, he's not wrong. Most of the clan is closed off and collected all the time, it may seem weird to strangers. It was a little weird in general too. 

"Hn."

He waited for a second, two, three...

"I TOLD YOU DON'T MAKE THAT SOUND WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO ME YOU FUCKING EXTRA!"

There. 

Itachi could have his petty revenge too.

\-----

Bakugou is so not looking forward to lunch in the Uchiha compound, somewhere in the back of his head he remembers Best Jeanist talking about 'making the most of a good connection' but Bakugou has never relied on his, or anyone else's family name to reach the top.

There was a lot of political and family drama in the hero rankings and academies too but he reached the spot of the Number One with Deku as one of the first hero duo's all on his own merit. He isn't gonna sap up to some hardass Uchiha to give him a better chance at making it to his dream. 

Nope. 

Not like he could anyway, according to Mina he doesn't have the 'talent of bootlicking.' Something about having the worst temper, he can't remember. 

He would much rather spend time with Sakura anyway, she's such a cute child, not like the usual crying and snivelling toddlers. 

"I'm home," he announces as he steps into the house. 

"NII-SAN!" an enthusiastic two-year-old calls from the living room and Bakugou follows the noise, Sakura's babysitter, a middle-aged woman whose name he never bothered remembering shoots him an annoyed look. She doesn't like that 'cute, little Sakura-chan is becoming rowdy like those ninja boys' because of him. At least she genuinely adores Sakura, probably the only reason why their parents haven't fired her. And why he hasn't blown her away from his little sister. 

Can't she see Sakura is not going to be a 'delicate proper lady' already? His sister.  _ As if.  _

"Hello, Sakura," he says and sits in front of her where she is busy arranging her toys by the shades of their colours. The babysitter woman starts packing her bag, he checks the time, huh, it's already eight pm, he must've been out longer than he imagined. 

"Wanna see my new sneakers?" he holds up the box in front of her and she makes excited noises. He smiles despite himself, is it legal to be so cute?

"WANNA!" she yells. He unwraps the paper covering and takes out a black waterproof and fireproof shoe. It has small red flames near the bottom and Bakugou snorts, Oreo has a weird habit of adding something related to his quirk in all of his gear. 

He gives the shoe to Sakura who stares at it for a few seconds, brows furrowed in confusion as she tries to determine what that shoe's going to do now, when it stays perfectly the way it is she loses interest and throws it as far as she can with her little hands all the while yelling "DIEEEEEE!"

So cute.

Orochimaru would probably have a heart attack with the way his creation is being treated. Bakugou had struck an easy deal with the man, Orochimaru would make his support gear for free as long as he gave him new ideas. And food, apparently, Class 1-A weren't the only ones who salivated at the smell of his cooking. Give the snake-man a few good meals a week and he was more than happy. And if Bakugou had made it a habit to make sure the man didn't die of sleep exhaustion, shh. He needed a reliable person to make his costume after all. 

"No throwing sneakers 'Kura," he says and gets up to retrieve his shoe. He is a little impressed by how far she threw it, all across the hallway. Hmm, strong. She mumbles something like 'sorry katsu-nii' and picks up one of her plushies to show him. Sakura and Bakugou both have early bedtimes, he is used to staying up for days on assignments but not in a seven-year-old body. And he generally prefers sleeping early when he can.

They sit together for some time, Sakura plays and Bakugou indulges her, telling her all about his day at the academy and training while eating. Once the clock hits nine pm he sets Sakura on her bed and sets her 'cuddle buddy' beside her. It's a rabbit holding a Cherry blossom that he had bought from the Kyuubi festival last year. Sakura loves it very much, according to her he has 'pretty red eyes, like katsu-nii' and 'pretty pink flower, like my hair'. He wishes her a good night and retires for the night. He has a lunch to attend tomorrow after all. 

\----

Orochimaru is in his lab working on creating an indestructible flak jacket for himself when he feels Sarutobi-sensei's chakra enter. 

"Good evening, sensei," he says without looking up from his new piece, keeping the fire at the perfect temperature as it heats slowly. 

"Orochimaru, good to see you," Ah, this is the 'i-want-to-say-something-but-I'm-stalling-tone' that he is very familiar with, having Jiraiya as a teammate will do that for you. He very patiently turns off the burner and gives a heavy sigh, turning to raise an unimpressed eyebrow at his former teacher. 

"What is it, Sensei?" he asks in his no-nonsense tone. 

"Mhm, that is quite something you're working on," No, he is not falling for this again, the Hokage apparently gets this as he winces and sits down on one of the many stools scattered around. 

"The council wants you to take a genin team,"

He snorts. The last team he took was during the second war, and Nawaki had died under his care. He was supposed to keep him safe- 

no, no thinking about it. According to Inoichi, blaming yourself for a comrades death is very unhealthy for a shinobi. 

"I'm serious, they say you're becoming more grounded as of lately, and that it's only fit you pass on your skills to the next generation." Orochimaru can't believe this, him? Incharge of children? The council probably wants more genius sociopaths who'll obey their every whim. 

"It is true though, you have changed, I was a little worried about you after the Kyuubi attack... But I'm glad, you seem much happier," 

And he is, because while Biology is a good field to study, he can only do so much, experimenting on plants and animals is great, but to make something useful it needs to be practised on humans. And there are only so many human experiments Danzo could provide him with. Especially with the war over. 

Making materialistic things to improve everyday life, now that was fascinating. Endless options, fully funded and fully  _ legal _ research given by the village. No hiding in underground labs. It was much,  _ much _ better. And the little firecracker and his pet Uchiha are much better company than the emotionless root agents.

Oh. 

That was an idea.

"Sensei, I'll take a team."

"I know you don't- what? Really?" there was so much glee and relief in his expression that Orochimaru rolls his eyes. He could just order him to take a team as the Hokage of the village. 

"But not now, in a few years, I have an eye on a few academy students."

"Oh?" there's barely concealed curiousness in his voice.

"Yes."

That's all the old man is getting out of him right now. By his sigh, he believes the Sandaime realises that too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im actually quite pleased with this chapter, i was going to add the lunch in this part only, but i got lazy and i have to finish my chemisty assignment by today soo
> 
> anyway, share what you guys think in the comments!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy reading, this chapter is longer compared to the ones before.

Bakugou woke up the next day in a better mood than usual. His parents had returned home early morning and though he hated to admit it, he missed them a lot. So did Sakura, considering she hadn't left their father's lap all morning. They asked him all about his week and school and were ecstatic when he begrudgingly admitted to making a friend. They were even happier when they learnt he was going over to his house for lunch today.

His mother offered to make something he could take over to their house but Bakugou quickly shot her down. He could see she was still tired and despite what it seemed, he was not a complete dimwit in cases of social meetings. He had made a Chocolate Raspberry Clafoutis in the morning. It was a french delicacy Aoyama had begged him to make for his birthday. The lack of options for desserts in the ninja world was shocking. He packed away some to take to the Uchiha compound and divided the rest for dinner and to give to Orochimaru. For a snake, the man sure did love sweets. 

He said goodbye to his parents before leaving for the academy, they had physical assessments today which meant Bakugou wasn't about to skip. Fighting was the only part he liked about school, even if it was against a couple of small fries. He hesitated for a second before grabbing his new black gloves and putting them on. Even if he didn't have the required chakra control to utilise them to their full potential, they still helped to lessen the recoil of the blasts. 

He sat on his usual seat beside Itachi, grunting in greeting before putting his head down to sleep. He woke up real early today. Itachi woke him up when their teacher started taking attendance. Once that was done with they lined up and went to the training area of the academy and started on their daily stretches before the matches began. These were supposed to count for thirty per cent of their final grade. Hideki sensei briefed them on the rules of the match before he started calling the pairs one by one. Bakugou mostly ignored the other matches, the ones between clan kids and civilian borns did not even last for a few minutes. 

He absently wondered what was the point of them attending the academy if they did not care to catch up to their peers? According to Itachi a lot of civilians joined the academy because education for them was free and most of them had misconceptions about the job as a ninja and were seemingly blind to the harsh realities of war and death. Most of them dropped out in the later years or failed the genin exams and were sent back. It was a waste of resources in Bakugou's opinion. What was the use of spending years on children who're ultimately going to drop out? And what was the use of training for years when you're not going to make the required effort? 

He was broken from his thoughts when Itachi's name was called, he was up against some no-name extra that Bakugou didn't know. "Don't lose, magic eyes," he called out and the said boy gave him a small smile. "Please don't call me that in front of my clan members, we are very proud of the Sharingan," he said quickly and left for his fight. Bakugou rolled his eyes but nodded, he thought this was bad? Kaminari had called him boom-boom-sparky-boy. How he missed his friends. 

The fight, as expected, didn't even last a minute as Itachi completely overpowered his opponent by getting him under a headlock just as they charged at each other. How boring. The raven himself seemed disappointed by the lack of challenge. It was after another thirty minutes or so when Bakugou was called forward. His opponent was Hyuuga Hagakure, and though she shared the name, she was nothing like his friend from UA had been. For starters, for some reason, she absolutely avoided Bakugou at all costs, and not even for the 'i am shy and have a crush on you' reason. He did not know what the reason was and he didn't care enough to find out. He only knew because Itachi had pointed it out to him one day. 

Anyway, he wasn't about to spend time thinking about her behaviour, he had a match to win. "All the best, Katsuki-san," he heard his friend say and nodded to him before making way to the clearing. 

"All right, start when you're ready," Hideki sensei called out and both of them made the seal of confrontation before the Hyuuga girl charged at him, she had her own version of magic eyes on and came at him with a flat palm outstretched. He followed her movement and sidestepped the attacks, blocking the hits with his own. She managed to land a hit on his arm which completely cut off his chakra from that area. Oh, he remembered something about Tenketsu points and the Byakugan's ability to see them. Shit, he should've paid attention in class. 

Deciding not to waste any more time he decided to use a small blast to send her flying back. Their class went silent, Bakugou had never used his quirk in the academy before, not counting the day he realised he still had it. He could hear whispers amongst his classmates but he didn't pay them any mind. 

"How? I blocked your chakra on the right arm," she frowned as she stood back up, eyeing him wearily. "It doesn't need chakra," he replied before sending a slightly bigger blast at her which she narrowly avoided. Not wanting to delay the fight, because his arm hurt dammit, he sent a blow to her feet and pushed her down to her stomach when he jumped to avoid it. 

"Winner, Haruno Katsuki," the teacher called out and he stepped back, making the seal of reconciliation before going back to where he was standing. "Mah, you shouldn't have gone so hard on her," a boy said and he turned to face him, what was his name again? By the corner of his eye, he could see Hagakure clenching her fist as she looked at the said boy. 

"Why?" he asked.

"Don't you know you're not supposed to hit girls, it's rude," Bakugou actually snorted at that, "Are you stupid? The enemy doesn't care about your gender before attacking. If I held back I could've lost," he huffed. Hagakure was looking at him with shocked eyes, not understanding what was wrong he turned to Itachi with a questioning gaze. He heard Hideki sensei start the next match in the background.

"Hagakure is a member of the main house Hyuuga, though not the heir she is expected to be a level above everyone else here. It is quite possible that the reason Hideki-sensei was assigned to our class is because she is in it, he is a branch house Hyuuga. Losing to you, a civilian born would be hard for her to deal with. But since you admitted to going all out against her publicly" he paused in his speech for a second, "Though I know you didn't go all out, since _I_ have burns to prove that," he shook his head, "Anyway, because of that things might be less difficult for her." He finished. 

"That doesn't even make sense," he scoffed. 

"A lot of things don't."

\-----

"We gotta stop by Oreo's house first," Bakugou said as they walked to the Uchiha compound. Itachi raised his brow but nodded and they stopped by his lab. His assistant at this point knew them quite well ushered them inside with a wave of his hand. 

"I bought you clafoutis," he said and dropped the bag on his shelf. 

"Mhm," came the distracted reply and Bakugou sighed before leaving a note saying what was inside the bag. They left soon after that, knowing that the older man won't pay any attention to them unless he was finished with whatever he was working on. 

"You and Orochimaru-sama have such a strange relationship," Itachi commented as they entered the compound gates. 

"And you speak like an old man, you're seven, magic- uh, extra," 

They reached the main house and Itachi knocked, a minute later a woman who strikingly resembled the said boy opened the door. 

"Ah Welcome home, Itachi-kun, you must be Katsuki-kun, yes? she said with a smile and Bakugou nodded, "It's good to meet you, Mikoto-san," he replied and Itachi turned to look at him, Bakugou _almost_ smiled. He wasn't an idiot, Mitsuki took him to many fancy dinners in his past life. 

"I bought some clafoutis for dessert," he added and held forward the bag which she took with a bigger smile, "Oh! You're so polite, thank you, dear, Itachi, show your friend to the washroom, clean your hands and feet, I'll set the table," she said and Itachi nodded mutely. 

He was looking at Bakugou strangely the whole time they were cleaning up. "What, magic eyes? I can be polite," he snorted. 

"Dad is the head of the Konoha Military Police Force, you could ask him any questions you have regarding joining and applications," he changed the topic quickly. 

"Hn."

"C'mon, mother is waiting."

When they reached the dining room Mikoto and a man, who he supposed was Itachi's dad were already sitting in their respective seats. 

Itachi went to sit at his father's left and Bakugou sat beside him. The table was awkwardly silent until Mikoto broke the silence with casual chatter, "Itachi has told us you want to join the police force in the future?" 

Bakugou was tempted to give 'Itachi' a look, did he tell every fucking thing in his life to his parents? 

"Hn. That's faraway goals though," he replied with a shrug.

"Oh?" Fugaku asked, a gesture to elaborate. 

"Mhm," Bakugou wasn't keen on sharing his life goals with strangers, thank you very much. 

"Your compound is almost segregated from the village, shouldn't the police force be in the heart of the village to work properly?" he changed the subject and suddenly the atmosphere in the room wasn't so light. Ah, so the rumours of the Kyuubi attack _were_ effecting the Uchiha. 

"After the attack, the compounds were given different locations," by the tone of his voice he wasn't too happy with it. Bakugou hummed in response, not wanting to say too serious, he wasn't going to end up involved in clan politics. 

"Nii-san!" a shrill voice came from the door and a little boy wobbled into the room. Mikoto immediately got up to pick him up and placed him on a high chair. Itachi smiled at him fondly and turned to Bakugou, "That's Sasuke, my Ototo," 

Bakugou looked at the happy baby and back at Itachi, "He looks like you already, God knows we don't need another seven-year-old old man in this world." he chuckled. Seemingly he wasn't as quiet as he thought as Mikoto let out a laugh. 

"He is rather serious for his age isn't he?" she said good-naturedly, "I'm glad Itachi-kun has friends like you, he was always such antisocial child," 

"Mother!" Itachi didn't whine but it was a close thing, his ear red. 

Bakugou didn't really know how to respond to that and simply nodded. Why are these people so emotionally closed off? And there were a hundred Uchiha's in this compound, was it a surprise the boy was antisocial. 

"Hn. Itachi has shown remarkable progress in this year, as expected of my son, I think he will be ready to graduate in a year or so," The clan head remarked and Bakugou blinked, was that a compliment? Didn't sound right, "I believe he has told us you've defeated him multiple times, I suppose you will go for an early graduation as well?" he asked. 

"No way, not until I'm like, ten or something," he replied without a moment's hesitation. The man looked genuinely surprised. "Why?"

"Because no matter how strong I am, my body is _seven._ " he said looking at the older man, "Plus Sakura's gonna start the academy when she's six so I wanna be there to see it," he added as an afterthought. Itachi looked as if he just now realised his younger brother would be joining the academy as well. "I think I should wait until I'm older as well, after all, we are not at war," he said. Fugaku frowned but remained quiet. 

"I support that, there is no need for children to be sent to missions, no matter how skilled," Mikoto spoke up and everyone looked at her, her expression bore to arguments and it seemed as if it was final, no graduating early. Good, he'd rather not have the only acceptable person in school get himself killed. 

"I see. Would you care to spar with Itachi? I'd like to see your progress as well,"

"Yeah, no thanks," he replied absently while eating. 

There was a moment of silence when what he said caught up to his brain, ah crap, and he was doing so well. "Uh, I don't fight after a meal, and I have to like, be home afterwards. Maybe later," he added. He thought he heard Itachi snicker and turned to glare at him which made the boy concentrate solely on his food. 

"I'll bring out the dessert, we don't usually have sweets before dinner, but I guess we can make an exception today," Mikoto chirped and divided the clafoutis into equal servings, giving a very small part to Sasuke who ate it messily. 

"...This is really good, I've never had this before, your mother is a really good cook!" she said after taking a bite. Bakugou frowned, again with the gender norms.

"Thanks, I made that myself actually," he said and she looked at him with wide eyes, "You bake?" she asked and he shrugged, he liked cooking in general, baking was a part of it. 

"Yeah, your son eats half of my sweets actually, it's a wonder his teeth haven't fallen off," he said and Itachi squeaked while Mikoto laughed. Even the stoic clan head had a small smile.

"He does have an awful sweet tooth, with the decrease in his demands for Dango I thought he is getting over it. Turns out he found a new chef eh Itachi?" she directed the last part to him and the clan heir scowled, determinedly not looking up from his plate.

The rest of the event was pleasant enough. 

\------

_Omake (idea by @/UndecidedAnimeGirl on ao3)_

_Danzo looked at his root agent with a raised brow, "Well?"_

_"We observed Orochimaru for the whole day, he spent all his time creating something called the 'sneakers', he packed the final product and took it with him but we found a spare in his lab and bought it for further investigation, Danzo-sama," the woman bowed and spoke tonelessly._

_Danzo smiled in satisfaction, Orochimaru was too valuable to make an enemy off. He might not be useful in the development of the Hashirama cells now but he was a genius. According to the reports of his agents this 'sneakers' was supposed to be something to be worn on the foot. What was it's secret though? Why was it so special? Important enough to get the crazy Sannin's full focus._

_His eyes brightened with glee, he now had a 'sneaker' in his possession. He would make sure to unravel all it's secrets and put it to use!_

_"Kana, get the sneaker to the top security locker, we will need someone to properly investigate it later, make sure it is locked tightly and kept safe,"_

_"Hai, Danzo-sama."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i will proofread this tomorrow morning i swear, please ignore the errors for now! its like 3am here rn and im ready to give up on everything and sleep for 12hrs. 
> 
> gotta be productive tho 😪
> 
> I never really understood the deal with the main and branch house of hyuuga considering that the clan elders were from the main branch but only one family was shown in canon and that was hinata's?  
> so let's just asume there are more people in the main family and they just go on with their business. 
> 
> i feel like the lunch scene was lil awkward but idk, maybe i'll edit that later too. i know im late but happy halloween!! i hope you guys had fun. thank you for reading and have a good day/night/whatever!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope everyone's doing well, a short chapter and a big timeskip <3

Sakura held her brother's hand as he walked her to the park. He had his academy exams soon and was busy the last few days so she was very happy that he could take her to the park again. The last time she went she had to play with  _ Sasuke _ . Ugh, she doesn't like him at all. But he's Itachi-nii's brother so she sees him quite often. She liked her brother's best friend. Unlike his younger brother, Itachi-nii is cool and calm. He doesn't boast about his shuriken practice every day and most importantly, he makes Katsu-nii smile. And laugh. So she likes him. 

Still not worth playing with Sasuke though. 

"I'm going to go and visit Kabuto, he said he had some things he wants to try out, you sure you'll be okay for an hour or so?" Bakugou asks looking down at Sakura who's walking beside him. 

"Yes! Maybe I'll make a friend or something, can we have sushi for dinner tonight? Yours is better than what daddy makes." she says happily, which makes Bakugou wince thinking of how his father will react to his 'speciality' being indirectly insulted. Probably with a lot of tears and dramatics. 

"Don't tell dad you said that and I'll make it yeah?"

"Deal!"

After he leaves her at the park with a final ruffle on the head Sakura looks around. The swings are already occupied and the sandbox is mostly empty. She decides to try and make a tower with the sand. She is quietly working on her own game, the feel of sand between her fingers feels really cool, when one girl approaches her with a haughty look on her face. 

"Hey, you're the girl who was playing with Sasuke-kun before right?" the brown-haired girl says and Sakura frowns, if that emo has pissed them off then it's not her problem. 

"..Yeah." she hesitantly replies because she  _ was _ **__ ** playing with him some time back, though it couldn't be called playing with his exclamations of 'Of course Itachi-nii can do it! He's the best." and "I can hit eight out of ten shurikens on the board every time." every two minutes. 

"Why would he play with you? You're a civilian." she sniffs and Sakura glares at her. 

"I don't know, go ask him." and she goes back to her sandbox with that. Katsu-nii told her that some clan children are mean for no reason but when you're strong they all shut up. Katsu-nii is strong, but Sakura is not. He says she'll be strong once she starts the academy and that he was weak before that too. He also says that she shouldn't listen to extras so she decides these girls are not worth her time. 

"Just because he played with you doesn't mean you're better than me!" why would she think that anyway? She didn't even know this girls name. 

"He probably did because you're so weird and he's kind. Your hair is  _ pink _ ." Sakura knows her hair pink and that it's too distinguishable but she'll be so strong that she doesn't have to hide from the villains who're trying to hurt her or her friends so  _ there. _

"And your forehead is so big!"

"I could probably write a paragraph on it!" 

They keep speaking and laughing to themselves and Sakura feels her eyes watering. She  _ knows _ her forehead is big, they don't need to repeat it. Maybe she is weird with the pink hair and the giant forehead. 

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE 'TTEBAYO!" someone yells from the other side of the park and Sakura turned to look at her. It was a blonde girl with whisker markings and spiky hair, and ocean coloured eyes. 

"My mom told me to stay away from her."

"Yeah let's go, she's only trouble." the other girls whisper to themselves and go away. Sakura is left alone in the sandbox once more with the blonde girl who stood up for her a few feet away. 

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto dattebayo, don't listen to those meanies, they're just jealous cause your hair is so bright and pretty," she said with a laugh and Sakura looks at her with wide eyes. "Do you want to play with me?" she asks, gesturing to the sand tower in front of her. Naruto looks a little surprised and points to herself, "With me?" Sakura nods. 

"Uhh, the others won't want to play with you if they see you playing with me I think..." the other girl trails off and compared to the cheerful and bright tone before, she sounds really really sad. 

"I don't want to play with them, they're mean." she shrugs.

"OKAY!" and the happy expression from earlier is back again and Sakura smiles herself. "So what are we gonna play? Did you make this? So cool! Hey! Do you wanna play ninja?"

\------

Kabuto was a weird person. Like really weird. And Bakugou knew one Kaminari Denki  _ and  _ one Sero Hanta. The first time he had met that guy had been during a weekly check-in at Oreo's lab where he went to demonstrate his workings with the various types of equipment and leave a day worth of food because that mad scientist totally forgot to feed himself again. He was just setting the bento on one of the table's when a boy with white hair appeared there wearing glasses entirely too big for his face. 

Orochimaru introduced him as Yakushi Kabuto, his new lab assistant. Assistant? He was barely a year or two older to himself and as scared as a squeaky mouse. Why would Oreo want to keep him around was beyond him. Whatever suits him. 

It didn't take long before he found out _ exactly _ why the snake sannin kept him around. Kabuto's personality did a three-sixty whenever he was engrossed in a project or assignment and he was ferocious enough to scare even the older servants when they did something inadequately. Like leaving things in the wrong section, mislabeling the pieces,  _ forgetting to align them alphabetically.  _ Kabuto told him he had graduated from the academy but failed the genin exam, he was assigned to the genin pool when he was found by Orochimaru who took him under his wing. 

Bakugou could tell is was an obvious lie, he didn't become one of the strongest heroes without knowing to look for subtle behavioural patterns. Though he simply hummed and accepted it, he wasn't too curious about how the boy had come across Oreo. He himself met the man while trying to set the training ground on fire and then the other stuck around like a leech. 

After he was done with his business at the lab, he headed over to the Uchiha compound. The guards at the gate were familiar with him visiting almost every day and didn't even bat an eye when he approached the main house. The tensions around the compound had lessened significantly since the first time he visited his friend's house three years ago. Itachi said it was because the Hokage had removed the ANBU stationed there as guards and everyone felt a little more relaxed. 

"Hello, Mikoto-obasan. Is Itachi ready? We planned to go over our notes for the exam together." he said as the Uchiha matriarch opened the door. She smiled and told him to wait for a minute as she fetched her son. 

"Good morning, Katsuki. Are you done meeting Kabuto-san?" the raven asked as he put on his sandals, an excited looking Sasuke jumping behind him asking to go too. 

"Hn. Let's go, Sakura's at the park so we have to pick her first." Itachi hummed and the two of them walked to the park in silence, letting the warm sunshine hit them even as the chilly winter winds blew. Bakugou didn't like winters, it was harder to utilize his quirk in the cool weather. Though now he had not just that to rely on, but also chakra. Which was pretty neat too. 

One more semester and then Sakura would enter the academy, just another year or so and then he'd graduate. Becoming the number one ninja was closer each passing day and this time he enjoyed the journey rather than fixating towards a single goal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ages:  
> bakugou: 10  
> itachi: 10  
> sasuke: 5  
> sakura: 5  
> naruto: 5  
> kabuto: 12
> 
> what do you guys think? I always thought that naruto and sakura could've been great friends, they compliment each other nicely.   
> i know this was a slow chapter but worldbuilding ig. 
> 
> anyway, share your thoughts as always, have a great day!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it might've taken me a month to update but i'm actually happy with this chapter. i wrote well over 3k words too. hope you enjoy!!

Orochimaru was a man with a plan. To be very honest, he was getting sick of Shimura Danzo's plans of helping him copy the Sharingan bloodline. It wasn't as if he himself did not find it very fascinating and wanted to study it, it was just that he couldn't devote so much time to something that would produce fifty per cent successful implantations at best. Plus if he really was going to take a Genin team in the next year or so, he'd choose Uchiha Itachi as one of his students. The boy had the strongest Sharingan seen in their generation and was hailed as a once in a lifetime prodigy even amongst the Uchiha. Why not work with the real deal then try to replicate it? 

But Danzo had been pushing him more and more. And what had been up with stealing one of his unfinished pair of sneakers? Was it a threat or warming of some sorts? That he could get his experiments from under his nose anytime he wanted? After all, what need would an old war hawk have with luxury shoes otherwise? If it was a warning he took it in stride. Ever since he found Kabuto and bought him out of the ROOT, his lab life had been much easier. The silver-haired medic was an efficient worker and even faster learner. He now kept all his experiments safe and out of reach to anyone out of his circle and Danzo hadn't been able to get his hand on them ever since. 

He was now on his way to confront Sarutobi-sensei about his teammates meddling ways, he also made an appointment with Uchiha Fugaku for dinner tonight to enlighten the man about the councilman's obsession with their clan bloodline and secrets. Maybe he didn't gain anything from it, but at least he'd be on good terms with one of the founding clans of Konoha and his possible students family.

"Good morning, sensei," he greeted as he entered the Hokage's office, seeing the Sandaime sitting on his usual seat with a pile of papers in front of him. The old man looked entirely too happy to see him, or perhaps a part of the reason was escaping the mountain of paperwork he could see. 

"Ah, Orochimaru, a pleasant day, isn't it? Konoha is always the prettiest in Spring," he replied, keeping his quill down and looking outside the window where the trees were starting to return to their former green colour, leaves covering the massive branches. "The new batch of children are starting their academy just a few days from now. It's always a pleasure to assign teams," he added with a smile and a glance at him.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes fondly and sighed, "I'm not getting out of picking a team sensei, I told you I have my eye on a few students." he replied, taking a seat in front of him and leaning back. If only they had some tea right now, it'd be a perfect get together. 

"Yes, I remember, you told me a few  _ years _ ago. Care to share their names? I want to know who's caught the attention of my genius student." 

Orochimaru hummed and picked up on of the many files containing student records, he went for the one titled 'Final Year Of Academy' and opened it to the letter H. Ah, here was the first one. "Haruno Katsuki" 

"The new bloodline bearer." The third took a look at his page. Top of the class, not very respectful with teachers, a loud and angry personality. No such negative or rowdy behaviour but not very social. Didn't like losing and was very competitive. There was more about his performance in every subject and class and not a lot about his personal life. Wanted to join the KMPF, that's new. Belonged to a family of well off businessmen and had one younger sibling. A true Genius. Had been recommended for early graduation multiple times but refused. 

He raised a curious brow at his former student, he knew the snake Sannin wouldn't just choose his team based on academy reports. 

"Hmm, they're missing some points. He is... creative with nicknames. A very good cook as well. Sometimes has ideas about shinobi equipment so wild I'd believe they exist in some other world altogether." Orochimaru elaborated and Hiruzen chuckled, "I believe you're acquainted with him then, considering the new 'equipment' we've been getting every few months. He nodded at his teacher and flipped the pages to the letter U. 

Uchiha Itachi. Usually second in class. Polite and respectful, every bit of a clan heir. Extremely good with genjutsu. Competitive at certain times but usually a distant student. Believed in non-violence and aimed to be the Hokage one day. An ideal student. They elaborated on his marks and abilities some more. Same as Haruno Katsuki, he had been recommended for early graduation multiple times but refused as well. 

A surprise, considering his father was Uchiha Fugaku. Everyone with half a brain could see the deteriorating relationship between the village and the Uchiha clan. Though in the last two years, it had become better, there was still a long way to go. 

"Two genius students in the same team, people are going to accuse me of favouritism." he sighed. 

"I won't waste my time on children who won't be able to keep up with my teaching methods." the  _ I want a strong team who won't die on my watch once again _ was left unsaid but Hiruzen could hear it loud and clear. The Sannin's last genin team had to be sent to the front lines in the second war and never made it back. It pained his heart every time to send children to war, but he must do what he needs too. Hopefully, this generation wouldn't ever have to suffer the same fate as them. 

"I see. And these two will be able to work together?" he asked, Konoha's whole foundation was built on teamwork. And these two children seemed very different in terms of personality. To his surprise, Orochimaru gave an actual laugh at his question.

"Sensei, you really need to leave this office more and visit the academy once in a while. These two have been joined at the hip ever since their first year at the academy." That was a surprise, perhaps he really should visit his future shinobi more. 

"And what about the third student, a team needs three genin." 

"You can choose whomever you want, I trust you'll find someone who can keep up with them." his student replied with a small amused smile and he sighed again.

"Now sensei, the real reason I was here was to discuss certain..  _ offers _ I've been getting from councilman Danzo," he said, all traces of previous lightness gone. The Sandamei too, sat up straighter and listened to Orochimaru seriously as he unfolded the 'village approved' experiments with various bloodlines. 

_________

"...And once you reach the rank of chunin with one year of experience, you can choose your specializations," Itachi explained to a serious Bakugou who was leaning against a tree, mulling over his friend's words. Now that he was graduating in a year, he had begun considering different ways and paths to reach his goal. 

"Hn. So while we're genin stuck with some shitty Jonin all we do is run missions." he clarified and the other rolled his eyes but nodded. "Stop calling Jonin 'shitty', they bring the maximum revenue to the village."

"I know that, that's why they'll assign us with the  _ shitty  _ one's who they can afford to spare" Bakugou smirked, knowing he was right. Itachi completely ignored the statement and changed the topic, "There's probably very little chance we'll be in the same team. You'll most likely be paired with the top kunoichi and the class's lowest scorer." 

Bakugou frowned as he was once more reminded of this particular assigning system. "Tch, considering my luck I'll get the shittiest teammates and shittiest teacher." Not like anyone could compare to Aizawa sensei. Or class 3-A. Remembering his previous classmates and teachers send a pang of grief through him. He desperately tried to avoid all thoughts concerning his previous 'life'. It was the only way he could continue to move forward and have some sort of mental peace. 

Itachi caught the faraway expression on his friend's face and knew better than to confront him on it. It was best to let Katsuki deal with whatever was on his mind first and then asking him about it. Not the healthiest thing, but then no shinobi ever had complete mental stability. 

"Let's go and pick Sasuke and Sakura, it'll be time for sunset soon," he said instead and the blonde nodded. Their siblings usually went to the park together. At first, both of them seemed to barely tolerate each other, but now they always went together and returned only after it was time for their curfew. He and Katsuki were yet to know the reason for this sudden camaraderie but maybe they'd find out today. 

"The last time we went to pick them up Sakura kept on talking about a friend she made, though they left before I could meet them. It's been what? A couple of months since then." Bakugou said as they packed their shuriken and training gear. She didn't mention that 'friend' again so he didn't pay much attention to it. 

"Yes. I wish my father had taken me to the park instead of the battlezone when I was four." came the reply and Bakugou snorted. It was still a little hard to digest the fact that Itachi could joke after listening to him ramble like an old man all the time. 

"We don't joke about our trauma magic eyes, it's not healthy," he said even as he laughed, getting a shrug from the other. 

_________

"It's almost time to go home," Sakura pouted as she sat across from Naruto and Sasuke in their 'secret base.' Personally, she didn't want the Uchiha here but he was always insisting on joining them so that he could 'escape the fangirls'. So tragic, really. 

"Yeah, I should go back home too, Itachi-nii would be almost done with his daily training by now," Sasuke added from where he was crouched beside the map of their latest mission drawn on the ground with sticks. 

"That's so boring dattebayo! But I guess I gotta go and make dinner too. Today I'm gonna have the new ramen flavour I've been saving up y'know." the blonde whined and leaned against one of the poles behind her. Sakura wanted to invite her to dinner, she  _ knew _ having ramen every day was unhealthy but she and Sasuke had both promised her that they won't tell their families about their meetings. Both of them had also noticed that people didn't always like Naruto. Even the kind lady from the neighbourhood Sakura knew sneered at the blonde when she walked by.

So she could understand why Naruto was scared to meet their families but she also knew Katsu-nii and mom and dad weren't like that. She just hoped that once they started the academy, they could be proper friends and have sleepovers and go to the festival together! She'll be patient about it. 

"I'm erasing the map, no one else should get their hands on it," Sasuke said with all the seriousness of a six-year-old and began stomping on the ground where their map was made. Soon it looked like a normal patch of mud. 

"Good job teme! Tomorrow we'll finally advance to the next part of our mission and then we'll defeat the villains." Naruto gave a thumb's up to the Uchiha who preened and gave a smug look to Sakura. 

Sakura glared back at him, what was he even trying to do? Naruto was her friend first of course. 

"Hn. It's not villans Naruto, we'll defeat the enemies."

"No, they're the villains, Sakura said so," she replied. This time Sakura was the one with the smug look as Sasuke glared at her. There, take that. 

"Tch, whatever, let's go," he said and turned on his heel, only to come face to face with his older brother. The sudden appearance made him surprised and his first instinct was to yell. 

"AAAAAH" 

Both Sakura and Naruto heard their friend's cry and yelled themselves. "AAAAAAAAAH!!!!" 

"Sasuke, it's just me. Calm down." Itachi said and placed a hand on his little brother's shoulders. He had an amused smile on his face. Once everyone stopped yelling and calmed down they took in the two new people in their 'base.'

"Nii-san! What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, his cheeks red from embarrassment due to screaming like a child. 

"Katsuki and I were heading to dinner. We thought we'd pick you on our way," he replied, ruffling his hair, causing the younger boy to pout. 

"Katsu-nii, you should've told me you'll come to pick us up!" Sakura said, her eyes wide and hand holding her friend's sleeve. Sasuke just now seemed to realise that Naruto was there with them as well and looked towards her. Naruto looked ready to bolt out of there as soon as possible. 

"Hah? Why can't I come to pick you up once in a while. Trying to keep your friend all to yourself?" he replied and easily lifted the young girl, setting her on his back. The pink-haired girl hid her face in her brother's back for a moment and shook her head. 

"I'm Haruno Katsuki, Sakura's older brother." he introduced himself to the fellow blonde who was gaping at him. Naruto was used to being the odd one out, no one in the village really had the same vibrant hair as hers nor did they have deep blue eyes. But this person had the  _ same _ hair colour and  _ red _ eyes. 

"Woah," she said in surprise before shaking her head, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to become the Hokage one day dattebayo," she exclaimed and Bakugou raised a brow, "This one here wants to be the Hokage too, you have competition." he pointed to Itachi who was quietly standing next to Sasuke. 

Naruto looked at him and frowned, "You don't look very strong though nee-san." she said and Bakugou looked at her for a second before laughing. He could feel Sakura laughing against his back too. Itachi was standing there blinking and trying to come up with something to say. 

"HE'S NOT A GIRL YOU DOBE, THAT'S ITACHI-NII" Sasuke yelled in outrage before looking around and lowering his volume, "And he's the strongest shinobi...." he trailed off. Naruto seemed to re-evaluate this 'Itachi' person, she had heard a lot from Sasuke about his perfect older brother. "Still, I'm gonna be the Hokage." she declared. 

"I look forward to the day, Naruto-san." Itachi finally said, causing Bakugou to sigh once again. What an old man. 

"We're going to have dinner at BBQ, do you want to join us?" Bakugou offered to the young girl who looked at him in surprise once more. 

"Eh, heheh, I don't know.." she muttered, nervously looking around.

"Or, we can go to this Ichiraku's you always keep talking about," Sasuke added looking up at Itachi who shrugged. 

"RAMEN? YATTA!" she fist-pumped the air and held Sasuke's hand, pulling him behind her as she started walking towards the said place. From on his back, Sakura to jumped down and held the blonde girl's other hand as the three walked together with the two older boys following behind them. 

"Guess we found out why both the little shit's were eager to go to the park every day huh," Bakugou said as he looked at the back of the three children. Their yellow, pink, and black hair contrasting greatly. He could see it in the blonde girl's behaviour, the same nervousness and fear that Izuku had, she just covered it up with a brave front better. He hoped this time he'd be able to atone for his sins against the green-haired boy in at least some way. 

"I suppose we did," Itachi replied taking in their joined hands. He was happy that Sasuke was able to find friends this early in life. Good friends too. Now if only things eased between the clan and village. 

____________

Orochimaru was accompanied by the Third Hokage as they made way to the Uchiha compound. The old man hadn't taken the news of his older teammate's unauthorised missions and treacherous ways well. He wanted to clear things with the Uchiha as soon as possible. He didn't want them to think he knew whatever Danzo was planning, and thus requested to join the snake sannin for dinner with Uchiha Fugaku. 

It had been a long while since they walked the roads of Konoha together at night, the village bustling with activity.

As they crossed the road with the chain of restaurants, he spotted Katsuki and Itachi sitting at a ramen stall with their younger siblings. And the village Jinchuriki. Ah, Minato's daughter. 

Seeing his student's gaze, Hiruzen looked to Ichiraku as well. Seeing Naruto animatedly talking with two other children her age. One of them was Uchiha Sasuke. Accompanying them were two older children, Itachi and Katsuki. As he looked at his honorary granddaughter laughing and talking and  _ truly happy,  _ with the Uchiha heir and his brother eating at a normal stand with friends and looking like they belonged, his resolve to solve the situation with the Uchiha only got stronger. They were a part of this village just like anyone else. Danzo had truly gone too far this time. 

"Oi, Oreo! Want to join us for ramen? It's actually decent." Orochimaru heard the unmistakable voice of one Haruno Katsuki who yelled from his seat at the restaurant.

"Good to see you here, Orochimaru-sama" Itachi added, polite as always. The three tiny tots seemed to pay no attention to them or their conversation, too busy amongst themselves. 

'Actually decent' was the best compliment he'd heard about someone else's food from the blonde boy and was almost tempted to try some himself. Almost. Meeting Uchiha Fugaku today was more important. 

"Maybe some other day, Katsuki-kun. Good to see you too, Itachi-kun," he replied and the two went back to eating as he kept walking along with the Hokage. 

"Oreo hm? Never thought I'd live to see the day." Hiruzen said almost teasingly. 

"Shut up, sensei." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what did you guys think? i hope it was somewhat decent. 
> 
> what acc to y'all will come out of the dinner meeting at the uchiha compound? will they resolve their issues or things will only get more tangled? personally, im shit at writing angst and usually end up making everything happy-happy so idk what to do. nothing's set in stone for now so share your ideas in the comments for the further chapters!! :))
> 
> i really enjoyed writing tiny team 7 meeting itachi n bakugou so i tried making it as homey as i can. 
> 
> as always, leave comments and kudos if you enjoyed it and have a great day!!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this chapter written for a few days but couldn't find a proper way to end it so i just winged it lmao. hope y'all enjoy!

Dinner outside was nice. The warm atmosphere, spending time with his friends and little brother, without the semi-judging looks people tend to give him or other Uchiha in restaurants, it was a breath of fresh air. Teuchi-san didn't care about his last name or Naruto's status. His smile didn't dim when a few civilians scooted away from him and his brother or left altogether after spotting Naruto. They ate, talked, had fun. It was something he needed. After a good dinner, they parted ways, with Katsuki and Sakura dropping Naruto off to her home and Sasuke and Itachi heading back to the compound. 

It was past their curfew but Itachi had already sent a clone to inform his mother that Sasuke was with him. Surprisingly, Mikoto had agreed without any question and told them to take their time. She seemed busy about thinking of something else. He couldn't think of any reason in particular. 

"Nii-san?" Sasuke questioned from where he was dozing off on his back.

"Yes, Sasuke?" 

"Why do people not like Naruto...?" he mumbled, more awake now. Itachi pondered for a moment before answering, "It's something we can't talk about. Just know it's not her fault and you should judge her by your own perception and not how others seem to do." Sasuke seemed to think over it and hid his face again. Some time ago, Itachi would've answered his question with a 'Sorry Sasuke, I don't know.' But he'd seen the way Katsuki interacted with his sister, always honest, he didn't give answers which would leave the girl feeling small and guarded. Even if her curiosity spiked or it left her more confused than before, he still answered her questions. 

Itachi wanted to shield Sasuke away from the harsh realities of their world. He'd gloss over his own feelings, darker topics, and the ruthless side of shinobi lifestyle just so his younger brother could have a sense of normality. Lately, he'd come to realize that he was only stopping his growth as his own individual. So maybe taking your only four-year child to a battlefield wasn't the best decision, thank you for the trauma, but it was equally counterproductive to hide the ugliness of their lives. 

Now Itachi tried to maintain a balance, he'd noticed that Sasuke too came to him more often than before, to ask for training or just talk. He seemed to be more open to talking with him now that he didn't just get brushed past. 

"I'm home," Itachi announced as he took off his sandals, and proceeded to remove Sasuke's who had fallen asleep on their walk back home. It wasn't very late yet so he must've been tired from all the 'secret missions' he'd been doing. He first laid Sasuke down on his bed before going to the dining room to greet his mother and father. Since he recieved no answer earlier he opened the door, only to come face to face with mother, father, but also Sandaime-sama and Orochimaru-sama. 

Before he could speak up with an appropriate greeting, Mikoto turned to him, "Itachi. Welcome home. It's late right now and you have academy tomorrow, finish up your preparations and head to bed, I assume you've eaten properly?" she said and it was a dismissal if he'd ever heard one. One look at his mothers face said that she was in her 'Clan head' mode and would expect everyone to comply. He nodded and bowed to the two outsiders in the room, "Good evening, Orochimaru-sama, Sandaime-sama," he said and excused himself. Closing the door, he made his way to his room, not oblivious to the tensed atmosphere in the room. 

___________

Mikoto took a deep breath as her son leaves the room, barely managing to keep herself in check. How can she, when she knows that there's someone in the village trying to get their hands on her son and clan just for their eyes? 

"And will you take action against this _Danzo_?" Fugaku aims his question at the Sandaime, squeezing her hand under the table, no doubt catching onto her displeasure. 

"Of course I will, but as it is right now, I have no proof to question him. He is one of the village elders and can't be bought in without proper evidence," The Hokage replies. 

"Oh? And this isn't your friendship speaking? If maybe this _friendship_ didn't cause you to be so lax with him we'd be in a better position. The village too," Mikoto's biting words cause the old man to hide a flinch, but no one in the room can bring themselves to feel bad for the man. Seeing the explosive atmosphere once more, Orochimaru decides to intervene, both to ease the tension a little and satisfy his own curiosity. 

"I plan to take young Itachi as one of my genin when he graduates," he starts, causing all eyes to turn towards him, "Even though I can't guarantee his safety from Danzo's manipulation now, once he comes under my tutelage he will be safe and away from the war hawk," he continues when no one opposes. He is expecting opposition, after all, Itachi is the Uchiha heir and might be expected to sign up as an apprentice rather than a genin team. But as their condition is right now, it'll be better to integrate them more into the village step by step. Seemingly on the same wavelength, the two Uchiha's nod. 

"I also have a question. There's a lot of Uchiha in our village, but why is Danzo intent on getting to Itachi and his cousin Shisui? I get that they come from a strong linage, but a Sharingan is a Sharingan, isn't it?" It's only after he finishes speaking he realises his wording might be insensitive, but he can't do anything about that now. 

Mikoto and Fugaku seem to share a glance before the man speaks up, "The Sharingan has three documented stages. But there's another that is extremely difficult to obtain, it gives the wielder a unique ability, and we'd rather no one gets it at all as the requirements for it are... cruel." he ponders on his words for a moment. "Shisui unlocked that Sharingan, and Itachi has the potential too, he has shown promise ever since he was young but I don't want him to-" he cuts himself off and takes a second to regain his composure. "Any more information can't be shared as is the clan law." he finishes and Orochimaru nods. He already knew there was something special about this Sharingan but he didn't know the boy had it.

"The Mangekyou.." The Sandaime breathes out and Orochimaru listens to him. The couple remains silent. "Kagami got the Mangekyou after Tobirama-sensei sacrificed himself. I don't much about it except it is born out of extreme guilt and sorrow," he adds and they nod. Orochimaru can see why the clan heads don't encourage others to activate it. Though when one is a shinobi, extreme guilt and sorrow aren't rare emotions. His confusion must be visible on his face because Mikoto adds to it, "The Mangekyou is only obtained due to the guilt of causing someone whom you love's death. It is common to assume you activate it by killing the person you're closest to which isn't a lie. Though the feeling of having caused their death is enough to get it. There are other factors involved as well," she explains. 

"I see," he nods. 

"I promise to keep a close eye on Danzo and take action as soon as I get any evidence at all," the Sandaime says as he gets up to take his leave, no doubt they don't want him here any longer than necessary. The clan head nods and walks out with him to escort him to the compound gates. Orochimaru stands himself to follow his teacher when Mikoto stops him, "Orochimaru-san." she says, her voice losing the hard edge it had all evening, "Thank you.. for coming to us with his plans, I don't-, I can't let Itachi or Shisui or any of the Uchiha children suffer just because of the selfishness of that disgrace of a human. I- the whole clan owes you," she says and Orochimaru stands there in silence for a second. It's not like he doesn't know the worth of a clan owing him a favour but he never thought it'd come to this. 

He doesn't have friends. Except for Jiraiya and Tsunade who are not likely to return to the village anytime soon, he doesn't. Maybe Sakumo was a friend once but then he died. Rest are subordinates, mission comrades, or in case of sensei, a mentor and superior. This feeling of comradeship is very... new. But not unpleasant. "I only did what anyone decent would do," he replied and she nodded, "I'll keep you updated on what I found out, leaving everything in the Hokage's hand is out of the question." he nods at this, not expecting anything else. When he returns home, there is a somewhat unfamiliar warmth in his chest, one he hasn't felt in a long time. 

One person with a blank mask on her face watches the Third and the Snake sannin walking with the Uchiha Clan head and matriarch into the main house from the shadows, noting everything with her copy wheel eyes. She doesn't question why she is the only person suitable for this job, why the compound barriers don't mark her as a foreign presence, or why many of the people here have the same eyes as her. She doesn't need to think. She follows orders. That's all she's ever known. 

She slips away and makes way to the underground root base to report to Danzo-sama what she saw today. Even if she didn't hear anything, she knew that the two new people in the compound weren't a good sign. 

______________

The next day everyone got up, as usual, Father went to work, as usual, Mother packed him a bento, as usual, Sasuke whined as he left for training as usual. Everything was the same as usual. But Itachi still felt as though there was a thin sheet of stress and ....grief? In their house. He knew better than to ask, but knew it had something to do with the dinner conversation last night. Since today was a no class day, he had plans to go camping with Shisui. A 'Brother day' as Shisui liked to say. Itachi felt guilty enough about not spending enough time with him that he agreed at once. 

"HEY! ITACHI!" he heard his cousin call out from the lane next to his house as he waited for him. Giving one last forehead poke to his brother, he made way to the cheerful Uchiha. 

"Good morning Shisui, what's the plan for today?" he inquired once he caught up to him and both of them walked to the forest. 

"Straight to business huh?" the older chuckled, "Why don't you tell me about how're things at the academy first? Made friends? Pranked any teacher? Fangirls giving trouble? Hows little Sasuke doing-" Itachi gave a fond sigh as he kept on speaking, though he answered every question, the nostalgia and familiarity of it all making him smile. The weight of his parent's mood felt lighter right now. 

"Yes, I have a friend. No, also no. Sasuke is fine, he'll start the academy soon."

"He's almost at that age huh.." Shisui looked upwards, hands crossed behind him as he walked, "To be honest, I thought you'd graduate way earlier. You surely have the talent too. Not jealous that your cousin is already in ANBU?" his tone was teasing but Itachi could read the genuine curiousness in his voice. Maybe once upon a time, Itachi wanted to graduate as soon as possible. To climb up the ranks as soon as possible and protect the clan, the village, Sasuke. To make his parents proud and improve the relationship between the clan and the village. 

But he had friends in the academy, learning along with someone else was fun. He had more time for Sasuke, he wouldn't miss his first day at school. Mother and father were still proud of him, though maybe father wanted him to graduate early. Tensions were easing, though he wasn't too sure about that. He liked having free time too. 

"I'm not jealous. I like being in the academy." he was a little jealous. Not of Shisui, but of the fact he wasn't privy to the same information as ANBU members were. Even then, he'd make it there one day. Shisui hummed in response and they set up their tent in a somewhat empty clearing in the forest. 

"Do you want to try learning the Shushin? I'm the best at it you know!" Shisui exclaimed once they had berries and bread for breakfast. Itachi nodded enthusiastically, never one to pass up learning something new. 

_____________

"I promise, it'll be fine!" Sakura reassured her friend for the nth time as they made way to her house. Now that Katsu-nii and Naruto knew each other, she could invite her over for a sleepover. Her first sleepover with a friend. She was very excited. 

"Sakura-chaaaan, nooo," Naruto whined and tried to break free from her grip, but Sakura was way too strong for all her dainty appearance. "But you said you will!" Naruto had said yes, but what if Sakura's parents didn't allow her in? Or worse, what if they made them stop being friends! Or, _what if they get mad at Sakura-chan!_

"Let's do it some other day then, we had dinner together only last night," she tried to reason, even though she wouldn't mind not having instant ramen for one night. 

"AH! FINE! Then promise me next week?" she conceded, a pout on her face. Naruto nodded quickly, till next week she'd be able to think of a good excuse, or maybe Sakura-chan will forget. 

"Why are you yelling?" Katsu-nii opened the door, finding two children standing at the entrance. "Sakura, and Naruto?" the blonde girl waved brightly while Sakura simply smiled. He looked as if he was sleeping. "I was just going back home ttebayo. It's almost dark and I have to reach soon!" Naruto explained and he grunted, opening the door fully. 

"I'll walk you home," he said and stepped out after wearing his shoes. 

"Huh, why? I know the way home! And it's not night like yesterday," she argued, but he only rolled his eyes. 

"I gotta stretch my legs anyway, don't mind walking a little brat home." 

"WHO"RE YOU CALLING A BRAT DATTEBAYO!"

"Katsuki, who is it? Why is there so much noise-" Mebuki cut herself off as she looked at the person responsible for the commotion. Despite not being one of those people who took the girl for the nine-tailed demon itself, she couldn't help but purse her lips. She didn't want her children near her. Immediately, she felt guilty when the little whiskered child noted her displeasure and flinched back, as if expecting a hit. The movement didn't go unnoticed by Bakugou who knew all too well what these signs meant. 

"Haa, I should go now, bye Sakura-chan, bye Katuski-nii," she said with a too bright smile and basically sprinted away. There was a moment of silence before Sakura broke it, "Hmph! Next week we're going to have a sleepover for sure."

"What sleepover?" Mebuki questioned, surely Sakura wasn't friends with the girl? 

"But I asked you if I could invite my friend for a sleepover yesterday Ka-san," she replied, frowning slightly. 

"Sakura, tha-" 

"Sakura, why don't you go and get you shuriken, I'll start teaching you today after supper." Bakugou interrupted her mother. 

"Wha- really? But you said not until academy!" 

"It'd be better to be a little prepared before you start." he reasoned and she nodded before going up to her room to get the blunt kunai she stored in her basket. Mebuki sighed, she didn't want to tell Sakura to lose her first friend as well, Katsuki would be better at handling the situation. Both the children were really close. 

"Mom. Why'd you react like that to Naruto? She's already so hesitant about being here" he said instead and she couldn't help the widening of her eyes. "Katsuki, you know what she is!" 

"I know. I read about it. She's _six_. And it's not like she chose to be the Kyuubi's vessel. It could've been anyone! What if that was Sakura?" he pushed. 

"KATSUKI!" she yelled, tears in her eyes. How could he say that about his own sister? She knew the girl was a child but how could she forget the pain from all those years ago as so much was destroyed in front of her eyes. 

"You know it, don't you. She's not the fox. Mom, you should see where she lives, how she has to survive each day. You can't really think that's fucking okay can you?" He pushed further, volume rising as he spoke. How could his mother be that way? She'd always been sensible and logical. Then why would she not see her stupidity on this particular topic? What child deserved to live the way Naruto had too? 

"Katsuki..." 

"Tch. I'm going outside, I'll be home late. Tell Sakura I'm sorry but we'll have to postpone training until tomorrow," he said and left the house, leaving his mother teary-eyed on the door and a pouting Sakura who only heard the last part of the sentence while coming down the stairs. But even she wasn't an idiot. She knew that whatever caused everyone to be mean to Naruto applied to Kaa-san too. And Katsu-nii was upset about it. Because he's already met her and knows Naruto isn't bad at all! Maybe when Kaa-san sees her she'll understand it too. 

___________

Bakugou blew off another tree in the forest as he swore left and right. Anyone coming here would probably leave just by hearing a 'child' speak like that. But he was mad, mad at everyone who decided to make a child's life miserable due to their own fear. _What if it was Sakura?_ How could he keep quiet knowing it could've been his sister living that way? It wasn't just about one child too. It was about the fact that people thought it was okay to abuse someone like that. 

What was the police for then? If they didn't stop one orphan from suffering? 

He wouldn't be like that. Not once he grows up and is strong enough to enter the police force. He wouldn't let things like these continue. What kind of a hero would he be if he did? Lost in his thought, he forgot to use chakra to shield his hand from the backlash of using his quirk excessively. 

"Fucking shit!" he hissed as he bought his hand closer to his face to inspect it properly. 

Feeling someone enter the ground he was in, he narrowed his eyes and looked up, barely managing to conceal his surprise at seeing a lone eye staring into his own. 

"Yo!" the person greeting with an... eye smile? He couldn't tell since the face was covered by a fucking mask. Even one of his eyes were. 

"What the fuck, _you clown."_

+++++++++++++++++++

for some reason I couldn't write chapters notes at the end so Im writing them here 

what did you think of this? IM DYING FOR SOME RESPONSE PLEASE POOR NARUTO </3 

everyone knows who the new person at the end is hehe 🌝 why do you think he was here? Coincidence or was he watching Naruto and the Haruno family? -not me being unable to stop myself from giving spoilers- 

ALSO GUYS AOT NEW EP TODAY OMG! I DIDN'T WATCH IT YET THO ITS RIGHT HERE BECAUSE...

what if someone dies and I become mentally unstable :) 

everyone's saying it's really sad but please let the comments be a spoilers free zone or I'll delete myself 😇

I'll go watch it tom morning rn I'm heading to bed goodnight! 

[Please check out the second installment of the series 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28730796 

if you want to :)] 

have a good day , any ideas or suggestions are welcomed!

**Author's Note:**

> my Instagram: [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/itxxchi/) if you guys wanna follow or chat ;)


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